Abstract Background We evaluated retinal function and structure in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) using photopic negative response (PhNR) from full-field electroretinography (ERG) and using optical coherence tomography (OCT)-based retinal layer measurements. Methods Ninety eyes from 61 subjects (31 controls, 30 AD patients) were included. Full-field ERGs were recorded using chromatic red-on-blue stimulation (1.7 cd·s/m 2 flashes over an 8 cd/m 2 blue background) in accordance with the ISCEV extended PhNR protocol. The AD group included 16 females and 14 males with moderate cognitive impairment (mean MMSE 15.5 ± 3.9). ERG a-wave, b-wave, and PhNR amplitudes were recorded. Macular and peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thicknesses were measured by OCT. Results A-wave (AD: − 13.4 ± 11.9 µV, control: − 32.5 ± 13.7 µV, p 0.05). The b-wave amplitude showed the highest discriminative power with an AUC of 0.956, followed by the PhNR amplitude (AUC = 0.930) and the a-wave amplitude (AUC = 0.904). Conclusion AD was associated with a generalized reduction in full-field ERG amplitudes, accompanied by selective retinal layer changes on OCT. Among electrophysiological measures, b-wave amplitude demonstrated the highest ability to distinguish AD patients from controls.
ŞENER et al. (Wed,) studied this question.